


Drip, Drip, Splash

by TheLateNightStoryTeller



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, I am just super paranoid, It's mature because it mentions sexting, about ratings, but nothing actually happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 14:32:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6379978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLateNightStoryTeller/pseuds/TheLateNightStoryTeller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fitz is staying a night away on a mission when he gets a call from Jemma… with slightly awkward timing…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drip, Drip, Splash

Steam rose from above the shining white porcelain of the bathtub, warming Fitz’s face as he sunk the rest of himself into the wonderfully warm water. A sigh passed out of him as it soaked into his skin, soothing the stiff muscles in his back and arms. It was _wonderful._

His eyes were half closed and he was listening to the drip of the faucet, completely relaxed, when his phone buzzed from the table beside him, nearly making him jump out of his skin.

He answered automatically, now used to an urgency in phone calls from years of working for SHIELD.

“Hello?”

“Fitz?” It was Jemma. She didn’t sound in a rush, or in a panic. Actually she sounded downright cheerful. “How was the ride there? Have you settled in for the night? I hope I’ve caught you before you’ve gone to bed-“

“This, er….” His eyes ran awkwardly over his naked form, a flush rushing to his cheeks even though he knew she couldn’t see him. “It’s not… I’m not dressed,” he blurted.

“Fitz I can’t see you,” she reminded him, and he could _hear_ her eyes rolling through the phone.

“Right…” He brought up his knees, covering himself anyway. He was debating whether or not to tell her to call back when she went on.

“I miss you,” she told him matter-of-factly. “I know you’ve barely been gone a day but…” Her breath fuzzed through the speaker. “We have a lot of lost time to catch up on as it is.” There was a pause on her end and he was searching for a reply, thinking she was finished, when she spoke again. “I know that sounds silly-“

“It doesn’t,” he assured her. Unconsciously, he stretched back out again, sitting up and shaking his head. “But we have time now and… what did you want to talk about?”

“Don’t you need to put clothes on?” she teased.

He smiled, leaning back but careful not to get the phone wet. “I’m in a bathtub so that’d be a little counterproductive. It’s _enormous_ Jemma you should see it.”

“You should take pictures,” she suggested. She must have understood the silence he sent back because she tsked at him. “ _After_ you’re out of it of course. I’m not asking you to… to… what would you call it?”

“I think it’s called sexting,” he supplied.

“Hmm, I’d rather do it in person,” she commented absently. “Generally!” she corrected quickly as he felt his ears catch fire. “In general I’d rather…. Oh… can we restart this conversation?”

_Yes, please._

“Hello, this is Fitz, who’s calling?” he joked.

“Ugh, my face itches,” she complained, disregarding the question. “My sister sent me this facial cleanser and she’s been asking me for ages if I’ve used it yet so I thought I’d give it a try tonight but it’s _terrible_ not being able to touch my face.”

“What colour is it?” he asked. He wasn’t sure why it mattered, but he liked to be able to picture the face he was speaking to.

“Green,” she told him. “Here I’ll send you a picture, I took one for evidence anyway…”

There was some shuffling and his phone vibrated against his ear, prompting him to open a text. She was wearing her grey pyjamas, her hair up in a bun and smile on her paste covered face that made him wish he was there even if the base didn’t have giant bathtubs.

“You look wonderful,” he said when he’d closed the text to put the phone back to his ear.

“I look like I did at my second birthday party after I fell asleep on my cake,” she objected.

“I think you might have changed a bit since then,” he countered good naturedly and she laughed.

“You know I’m really not sure this is actually doing my skin any good,” she commented, and he guessed that she was reading the back of the bottle.

“Why don’t you wash it off then?” he suggested.

“I want to tell her I used it,” she explained. “She seemed really excited about it… I’m wondering if she’s experiencing the placebo effect…”

“Then tell her you used it,” he answered simply.

“I’m not lying to my sister Fitz,” she protested. She didn’t need to see him to know he was raising his eyebrows. “… about anything I don’t _need_ to lie about,” she clarified.

Fair enough. “How long do you have left?”

“Six minutes,” she told him.

A good amount of time to soak. He sank himself further into the water, enjoying it now that he wasn’t so self conscious.

“Do you think she’d be offended if I made her a facial cleanser of my own?” she asked in that distracted tone that let him know she was already setting the idea into motion inside her head.

“I’m not sure she’d appreciate you using her as your guinea pig,” Fitz chuckled.

“Oh I was planning to test it on us first,” Jemma told him.

“On… Jemma I’m not putting goop on my face!” he protested.

“Oh Fitz it wont be nearly as itchy as this one is,” she dismissed. “I’m sure I can make something that actually feels rather pleasant. You wouldn’t need to do anything, just sit back, relax and let me-“

“Give me a facial,” he finished flatly.

“ _Pamper you,_ ” she corrected stubbornly. “You’ll like it.”

It didn’t actually sound so bad. Nothing itching. Relaxing, with Jemma, her hands rubbing all over his face, his cheeks, under his eyes, near his lips….

“Well, if you really _need_ my help…” he conceded slowly.

“I’d appreciate it,” she said sweetly. “I’ll see if I can find my BBC Earth series and we’ll make a night of it.” Something beeped on her end of the line. “Oh, time to rinse off my face! I’ll call you back in a few minutes?”

“Sure,” he agreed.

/-/-/

Jemma’s phone buzzed on her dresser just as she was re-entering her room, and she opened the text to find a picture of Fitz, fully dressed in his pyjamas and with his wet curls plastered to his head, waving at her from inside an enormous bathtub. She chuckled, smiling adoringly at the photograph for a moment before swiping it away and hitting the 1 to speed dial him.

 “You took your time,” he answered cheerfully.

“I had a bit of trouble removing it,” she complained. “But… well my skin _is_ softer now, so maybe there is something to it…. I may need to look into it when I have a moment, I’m wondering if there are ingredients they haven’t listed. You seem very happy with that bathtub by the way,” she added teasingly.

“I’d be happier with you,” he answered and she felt her cheeks flush, a warm spark in her chest.

“Well…” Her tongue had tied itself into a knot and she was fumbling for a reply. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so pleasantly flustered. “Well… I… me too.” She blew out a breath, pausing to allow the butterflies in her stomach to calm themselves. “Tell me about your day. How was the trip there?”

They spoke for the next hour and a half, getting ready for bed as they chatted, and when she’d tucked herself in, Jemma propped the phone up with her spare pillow, laying down beside it to listen as Fitz told her his story. Neither of them wanted to hang up, they kept avoiding it, leading up to the inevitable goodbye and then veering away to another topic of conversation until Jemma felt her eyes falling shut…

The next morning, she awoke to soft snoring coming through the speaker of her phone, and realized in surprise that they’d both fallen asleep before having a chance to hang up. For a few minutes, she lay on her side, staring at the source of the sound, the steady, peaceful breaths of the man she loved enough to fill the entire universe. They were so small, both of them, and yet what she felt for him could transcend any distance between them, cross any chasm. It was so, incomprehensibly, enormous for something that neither of them could see and, in her first waking moments, she found herself enchanted by it, by him.

She took the phone, rolling onto her back to hold it over her heart, and smiled at him across the unseen distance.

“Good morning Fitz,” she whispered.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh yes and super thanks to agl03 for your advice on awesomeness of hotel bathtubs :D


End file.
